Show me the money!

Surgery at the CSC

There are a lot of perfectly legitimate reasons not to attend the White Collar Boxing on 23rd April. Maybe you're out of town; maybe you can't afford it; maybe you have an ethical issue with the sport itself. That's fine, I get it, and whilst I have encouraged those who are interested to come along I have not beaten anyone around the head with demands that they support me. The one thing that irks me, however, is those who say they won't go because "not all the money goes to charity, so it's clearly a scam".

Patients at the CSC

At the first briefing at Vanda before any of the training began we were told - very, very clearly - that there is a distinct dividing line between the commercial aspect of putting on the show and the charity aspect of raising money for the Childrens Surgical Centre in Cambodia. That line exists to remove any ambiguity about where the cash is going - and the ticket price for the fight? That is not a charity donation, and no-one is claiming that it is. That pays for the night itself. Because, you know, this stuff doesn't happen for free!

Physiotherapy at CSC

Working in my industry I have been involved in many charity events and know enough about organising them that I could write an essay outlining why it costs money to raise money... in fact, I pretty much did write an essay as my first draft, but realised you would all be bored stupid by it! And that is one of the key things here - keeping people interested. No-one goes to a charity paint-drying event, do they? They still want to be entertained, have a good night out, have some fun. And all those things that make the fun - in our case, the booze and food, the sound system, the lights, the waiter service, the boxing ring, etc., etc. - they all cost money.

A patient of the CSC

So how exactly is this a charity event? Well, on the night itself there is an auction and other activities designed to raise money, every cent of which goes to the charity. But long before that, before even the training starts, it is made clear to all of the boxers that we have a responsibility to engage people in raising money - and believe me when I say that Vanda are not remotely shy about letting us know when we are not doing enough! On which note... myself and one of the other boxers will be organising a fun charity pub quiz at Molly Malone's on March 31st. Full details will be posted on this blog soon, so stick it in your diary and we will see you there!

Ophthalmology at the CSC

I also strongly encourage all of you to do what you can to support the Children's Surgical Centre in Cambodia by donating through my First Giving page, here - all money through this page goes directly to the charity, but do note it is in US dollars. If you would prefer, you can pass me any donation and I will pay it into the First Giving page under your name (or a pseudonym if you are shy). For more info on what the money goes to support, please check out the video on my "The Good Cause" page.

Please consider a donation...

Finally - to anyone who says they don't support the WCB because the ticket price does not go to the charity, I hereby challenge you to put your money where your mouth is and donate the value of a ticket to the charity without having the fun of attending the event...